Trump had a bad week, pundits say. But his base is all smiles at CPAC
U.S. president to address conservative conference after Cohen's testimony, failed talks in Hanoi
Donald Trump's rough week began with his former fixer Michael Cohen's damning testimony alleging the U.S. president committed crimes while in office.
It ended with the collapse of his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un; a rebuke of Trump's "lavish praise" of Kim from the parents of Otto Warmbier, who died shortly after his release from detention in North Korea; economic growth numbers that fell short of a promised goal; a New York Times report that Trump ordered his chief of staff last year to grant his son-in-law top-secret security clearance; and anticipation that the U.S. special counsel's report on Russian meddling in the election is imminent.
It was, in the estimation of several pundits, a "bad week." But try telling that to the Trump diehards packing a harbourside hotel at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.
"Honey, this right here, CPAC, is the epitome of class, style, grace, smartness — we're Republicans right here. Everyone's smiling," said Nicole Jenkins, a conservative activist, speaking outside a ballroom teeming with attendees listening to Vice-President Mike Pence deliver an address.
Ahead of Trump's CPAC speech on Saturday, attendees committed to waking up as early as 5 a.m. to snag seats in the main conference ballroom dismissed Cohen's testimony as a Democratic-orchestrated hit job. They also shrugged off Trump's under-performing GDP figures, and cheered the abrupt end of the president's nuclear summit in Vietnam with Kim.
Here's some of what they said.
The ex-Democrat
Brandon Straka is a gay former liberal who gained widespread attention as the activist behind the #WalkAway online movement to leave liberalism.
"Who cares about Michael Cohen? A liar lied — ooh, front-page news. I don't find it legitimately damaging," Straka said. "We have a president who's doing a good job. That's why you see all the smiles on people's faces. Because the country's in great shape."
On the topic of documents Cohen presented as evidence of Trump's criminal wrongdoing, including a reimbursement cheque signed by Trump himself for alleged hush money payments, Straka demurred.
"I don't think it's damning. I don't think it's a campaign finance violation. I don't think there's anything illegal that he did," he said. "Trump knows that we all know it's a joke. We all know that this is all B.S., so [on Saturday], he'll get up and just make light of it ... It's funny."
To naysayers pointing out that the economy cooled slightly in 2018 under Trump, with figures showing U.S. GDP grew at a 2.6 per cent rate in the fourth quarter — below Trump's goal of 3 per cent — Straka rolled his eyes.
"A hair below," he said. "Economies expand and contract. We'll see what the long haul shows us."
The right-wing pundit
Jeffrey Lord, a Trump advocate and former fixture on cable news, is an ex-White House strategist in the Reagan administration who was fired by CNN in 2017 after tweeting the words "Sieg Heil!"
The Cohen testimony is "another blip" in a political effort "to get Trump," he said. In Lord's view, the testimony — in which Cohen called his former boss a "cheat," a "conman" and a "racist" — was exonerating for the president for one reason.
"He said he wasn't aware of any Russian collusion," Lord said. "I would suggest that's because there was none."
"I'm watching this whole thing with Donald Trump and I don't think it ended that badly," Lord said. "He made it plain that if he didn't get the denuclearization thing, he was going to say, 'That's it, I'm out of here.'"
The Gen Z conservative
Vittoria D'Addesi, 18, is an anti-abortion advocate who represents a fashion line devoted to the anti-abortion movement.
"Michael Cohen has been indicted because he's lied to Congress before. He'll do it again. I don't trust the man. And I believe my president," she said. "He is going to jail for lying. What's going to stop him now?"
Listening as much of the mainstream media gives the false impression, in her view, that the past 18 months have been disastrous for Trump, D'Addesi said it was "a great week" for the president, citing nuclear talks.
"A lot of my peers don't like the president, but even they know when the president has done something great," she said. "Even they know that sitting down with Kim Jong-un is a great success not only for America, but for the world."
The college Republican
Jackson Maitner, 19, is a student at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. He travelled to CPAC with friends from his campus chapter of the College Republicans.
"I don't know if it's been much of a rough week. People make it out that way. It depends on your news source. I think Trump thinks every week is rough. You look at CNN and it's a brutal week, the worst week, always. If you look at Fox News, it's a different story. I think he's handling it well."
Maitner said the border wall and immigration are his top concerns.
As for allegations from Cohen that Trump is a racist, Maitner said those accusations are "just old news."
"It's a lot of nonsense. I think he can just let it blow over."
The border activist
Paloma Zuniga is a right-wing media personality and dual U.S.-Mexican citizen who records videos from the Southern border.
The self-described "nationalist influencer" wants the president to talk about his national emergency declaration to build a border wall when he addresses CPAC on Saturday. She also wants to hear him deny Cohen's accusations.
Republican lawmakers during Cohen's testimony appeared more focused on discrediting Cohen than on defending Trump against the substance of the accusations.
"I'm not sure that President Trump will defend himself [on Saturday], but I hope he will. Because he always confronts his problems head on, and I hope he does with this, too," she said.
Asked if her faith in the president has been shaken by the latest potential legal, economic and geopolitical setbacks, Zuniga was unequivocal.
"No, no, no. I think he's had worse weeks to try to damage his reputation. He'll get through it, just like he does with everything else. I just want to hear him keep encouraging us, because he's the best motivational speaker I've ever heard."
The 'Blexiteer'
Nicole Jenkins is a pro-Trump activist pushing the 'Blexit' movement to draw black voters and people of colour away from the Democratic Party.
"The Democrats want Trump out. I'm confident that he's not going to be convicted and he's not going to be impeached," she said.
Jenkins, who said she grew up in inner-city St. Louis, defended the president against Cohen's testimony that Trump is a racist who disparaged African-Americans and once challenged Cohen to name a country run by a black person "that wasn't a shithole."
"He's not a racist. What did he say that was racist?" Jenkins said.
She pointed to Trump's endorsement of the First Step Act, legislation also supported by Democrats to reform the federal prison system and reduce sentences for nonviolent drug offences that disproportionately impact people of colour.
The conservative banker
Tai Wong is a Chinese-American commodities trader for a major bank in New York. He came to CPAC with his 15-year-old son.
The Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam may have fallen short of expectations, but Wong doesn't see it that way.
"There was a breakout session today about the press here at CPAC, and it's all about how you spin things," he said.
Wong said it was hardly a bad week for the president, who should be lauded for walking away from a bad deal with North Korea.
"When you don't have a good deal, you walk away," he said. "You might think that would strengthen his hand when he talks to the Chinese in a much more important strategy going forward to the country. China really is our strategic adversary; the North Koreans are a sideshow."
He said Cohen's testimony wasn't surprising, either.
"His enemies are outraged, and his supporters, the base, don't care," Wong said. "We know he's a man with many foibles and many peccadilloes, and his supporters are willing to overlook it because in essence, he give people a voice who didn't have a voice. So we're very optimistic here."
Watch as Michael Cohen testifies before lawmakers:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
